News

If Governor Pat Quinn's agreement with AFSCME, Illinois' largest public employee union, goes through, new employees will be treated differently than those already on the payroll. Union members get pay boosts the longer they work for the state. Quinn's Chief of Staff, Jack Lavin, says it will take longer for new hires reach those step increases, and he says they'll start off making less too. “And new, to achieve the top of that job classification it was previously eight years, now it’ll be 11 years.

Peoria officials are working together to attract a new call center business to the city. Mark Rothert is assistant Peoria County Administrator for Economic Development. He says the company would create about 200 jobs if it locates in the area.

"Right now, immediately, if the company were to expand into Peoria, they could fill about 50 jobs immediately. So, with that potential of 200 jobs, this is a good project to be working on to help spur on our economic development," says Rothert.

Peoria’s Warehouse District is moving forward. Local, state and federal officials gathered in downtown Peoria for a symbolic ground-breaking. The event kicks off the Warehouse District and Washington Street improvement projects. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined Mayor Jim Ardis, former Mayor Dick Carver and others to kick-off the $30 million effort.

This week, we're talking with Ryan Campen, the director of "Frost/Nixon," which opens this weekend at the Corn Stock Winter Playhouse. The play tells the story of the 1977 interviews between former President Richard Nixon and British television personality David Frost. Campen talks about his working with his cast to create portrayals of such iconic historical figures, and about his decision to incorporate live, audio-visual elements into the production.

The Illinois House continued test votes on measures to address the state's pension problem, and after a series of failures, one finally passed. But as IPR’s Brian Mackey reports, most Republicans are still boycotting the process.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn may have a hard time getting most of his budget through the General Assembly, but he is expected to act Friday on one proposal that doesn't require getting legislators' approval.

The Peoria man who allegedly murdered his wife on Valentine's Day was seeing a young Lithuanian woman in the United States. Multiple media outlets are reporting that was the message during a 20-minute bond-hearing for Nathan Leuthold. Prosecutors say Leuthold met the woman in Chicago about 20 times and also bought her clothes. A Peoria Police Detective also reportedly told prosecutors that they found a handwritten note believed to be from Leuthold’s wife, Denise. The note said she knew he wanted her dead and running around with a 20-year-old was making her look bad.

The I.H.S.A. March Madness Boys Basketball Tournament kicks-off Friday at the Peoria Civic Center. The March Madness Experience runs alongside the tournament. It features more than 15 games and other attractions to entertain kids and families. The I.H.S.A. tournament is one of the largest annual convention attractions hosted in the Peoria area. Don Welch is the C.E.O. of the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. He says its a great two-weekend event for the region. “It brings a lot of economic impact, about 5,000 hotel rooms. It fills all the restaurants and hotels.

The Komatsu facility in Peoria has four federal fines related to the death of an employee last summer. A Komatsu employee was injured, and later died, after testing hydraulic cylinders for leakage when an equipment failure released hydraulic fluid. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says Komatsu failed to develop and train employees on understanding machine energy control procedures. OSHA says it found similar violations at the Peoria facility in 2011. It also says the company failed to correct repeated failures of machine parts or document annual inspection reviews.

More Illinois counties are complying with a law intended to keep guns away from people with mental illness. IPR’s Chris Slaby reports:

Listen

Listening...

/

0:58

An audit last year found only three county court clerks reported people with "disqualifying mental health conditions" to the Illinois State Police. Now, that number's up to 27. Jessica Tramme is chief of the firearm services bureau for the Illinois State Police.She says a change in January means judges MUST order court clerks to notify the State Police when people are found "mental defective" or "intellectually disabled."

Illinois pensions would eat up about a fifth of state spending under the budget Governor Pat Quinn proposed Wednesday. As IPR’s Amanda Vinicky reports, Quinn say it’s the most difficult budget he's ever submitted to the General Assembly.

Days after Governor Pat Quinn vetoed a measure that would authorize a major expansion of gambling in Illinois, the state Senate is moving forward with new legislation that would expand gambling even further.

There were few surprises Wednesday in Gov. Pat Quinn's budget address in the Illinois General Assembly. He called it a "difficult" proposal, with steep cuts in spending on education. So we challenged Statehouse reporter Brian Mackey to find seven things that were surprising about the governor's speech.

Congressmen from Iowa and Illinois want to improve health care in rural parts of their states. Wednesday, democrat Bruce Braley from Iowa's First District and republican Aaron Schock from Illinois' 18th district introduced the Rural Health Clinic Fairness Act. Braley says Medicare currently has an incentive program, with grants up to 44-thousand dollars, to encourage hospitals and other health professionals to transition to electronic medical records. Their bill would make rural health clinics eligible for these grants.

Mercy for Animals brought its national tour to the Walmart on University in Peoria. The group is traveling the country protesting the living conditions of pregnant pigs at pork suppliers for Walmart. Members of Mercy for Animals displayed a 10-foot inflatable pig in a narrow crate as part of its protest. Phil Letten is with Mercy For Animals. He says the display aims to highlight how pregnant sows live at some suppliers:

In his annual budget address Wednesday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn laid the blame on the General Assembly for forcing him to cut spending on schools and other key state priorities. Quinn says the cost of pensions is "squeezing" Illinois' finances, to the point that he's calling for a $400 million hit to education. IPR’s Amanda Vinicky reports: Governor Pat Quinn unveiled a budget that spends around $35 and a half billion dollars from the state's main checking account.One fifth of that would go toward the states' public pension systems.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun” tells the story of one African-American family in the early days of the civil rights movement. A production is now on stage at Bradley University. Reviewer Douglas Okey says the play has as much to say today as it did in 1959. He has this review for Peoria Public Radio and the Live Theatre League of Peoria.

Opinions expressed are those of the reviewer, not those of Peoria Public Radio or the Live Theatre League.

The Peoria Police Department arrested Nathan Leuthold Wednesday morning for the murder of his wife, Denise Leuthold on February 14. Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard says his department arrested the 37 year-old Leuthold in Pekin during a traffic stop they initiated. He says people have shared information that’s helped his department meet the probable cause standard to make Leuthold’s arrest. But Settingsgaard says detectives are still actively following-up on details.

East Peoria residents will have another cable provider to choose from this summer. Peoria Public Radio’s Alex Rusciano reports the City Council approved a franchise agreement with ITV-3:

Listen

Listening...

/

0:49

The agreement means Comcast won’t be the only residential provider of TV, internet and phone service in East Peoria. ITV-3 is owned by the same family that owns Family Video rental chain. Levi Dinkla is Vice President of ITV-3. He says the agreement means more healthy competition:

Governor Pat Quinn is expected to call for cuts in education funding in his annual budget address Wednesday. IPR’s Brian Mackey has more. Although overall state spending is expected to increase in the coming budget year, the money that goes to education would be cut under Quinn's proposed budget.His top aides hammered what they say is the cause. Brooke Anderson: "It is the direct product of inaction on pension reform.Jack Lavin: "This budget is a direct result of the inaction on stabilizing pensions."Jerry Stermer: "...

The new Target Store in East Peoria is open for business. It’s part of the city’s new downtown that includes new roads with a roundabout and storefront opportunities for shops and restaurants. The Costco Store opened about four months ago as one of the anchors to the Levee District. East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus says, "target is really very symbolic of our vision being enforce. It's been a long journey and now with these openings and more to come, it really just makes it a reality for our public and our region.

Peoria Chief’s opening day is less than a month away, despite today’s wintry conditions across Central Illinois. This year game-goers will be able to experience three new hot-dog options. Rocky Vonachen is the president of the Peoria Chief’s. He says fans can vote online for their favorite loaded hot dog.

Pioneering Illinois politician and former state comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch died Tuesday at age 86. Many Illinois Constitutional Officers, Congressman Mike Quigley, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Senator Dick Durbin have issued statements about Netsch and her service to the state. Senator Durbin called her an indomitable force who blazed a path suitable for generations of Illinois women to follow. IPR’s Brian O’Keefe talked with Illinois political expert Kent Redfield about Netsch’s life and contributions to state government:

10th Judicial Circuit Judge Michael Risinger is reassigned to civil court over concerns about his notes regarding his sentencing philosophy. Chief Judge Michael Brandt says Risinger shared his rough agenda notes with lawyers and others ahead of a meeting about misdemeanor court. One of the notes referenced a tie-in with the race and dress of the defendant when sentencing. Risinger says his note should not stand alone, and he explained during the meeting that a sentencing hearing should take into account special circumstances with the defendant.

A tentative agreement between Governor Pat Quinn and the state's largest public-employee union, AFSCME, means retired workers finally know how much they should budget for health care. And it means the state will finally get the savings it had already been counting on.